nativeview.net
For Immediate Release
Eighth Annual Tribal College Forum  
For more than eight years, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) have been a major part of NativeView, Inc. in achieving their vision of protecting and promoting the resources and welfare of tribal nations and their people through focused collaborations. NativeView, Inc., with support of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), Bureau of Indian Affairs and Education (BIA/BIE), NASA, and again, FGDC and USGS, hosted the eighth annual Tribal College Forum (TCF VIII) at the Northwest Indian College (NWIC) in Bellingham, WA on August 18-20, 2009.   More than one hundred people from tribal, educational, government, and private entities participated in the 2009 Forum, including approximately 20 of 36 Tribal Colleges and Universities from across the U.S. The theme for the Forum was “Sacred Lands, Sacred Trust: Geo-spatial and Spiritual Perspectives.”  In addition to presentations by Tribal College students and NASA’s Summer Research Experience (SRE) students, panel discussions including topics related to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as applied to Sacred Lands were addressed from the perspectives of Tribal Elders, Tribal College Presidents, Tribal Leaders, Land Use/Land Managers, and Federal Agencies. The Forum is significant because it reaffirms the NativeView, Inc. commitment to provide Tribal Colleges and Universities and tribal communities with education, integration and application of geo-spatial technology to meet the cultural, academic, scientific, policy and management needs of the people they serve.  Many thanks to the North Central Area's (NCA) Eric Wood for sponsoring travel expenses for the Earth Resources Observation and Science's (EROS) American Indian Liaison, USGS and FGDC for sponsoring ongoing Native American activities at EROS including this forum, and AIHEC, BIA/BIE, NASA, and NWIC for sponsoring TCF VIII on behalf of NativeView, Inc. For more information on Native American Activities at USGS/EROS, contact Michael Crane at 605-594-6041 or mpcrane@usgs.gov.



SAVE THE DATE!

Tribal College Forum VIII
Bellingham, WA at Northwest Indian College
August 18-20, 2009